weather

The snow is more fun when you’re well-rested

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Yesterday’s adventure in the snow was not so positive. I took Jack out while it was still snowing so I could do a first round of shoveling before the snow turned to freezing rain and packed everything down.

He was fine with the snow on the ground (progress!), but it was windy, and any time the wind blew snow into his face, he started to shriek. I mean, I can’t blame him – it’s cold and it’s wet and it’s in his face. He didn’t quite understand that he could turn the other way and be protected.

He let me get quite a bit of shoveling done, though. At one point, I escorted him back to the door so he could sit on the step, protected by the overhand. He sat there contentedly for the 10-15 minutes I needed to get to a stopping point, which was truly surprising. Then we played with snowballs under John’s office window until the wind turned on us again and we went inside.

That’s when we tried hot chocolate. You’ve seen the video – he liked it okay, but it wasn’t a life-changing experience.

Of course, the whole afternoon might have gone better if Jack had napped. Yesterday was the third day in a row without a nap. I’m not hopeful about today.

Cozy warm

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I try not to go outside when the temperature looks like this:

And don’t tell me it’s what I deserve for moving to New England. I live by the beach, and this kind of cold is unusual.

Besides, I work from home and Jack’s not in school (pandemic aside), so we can spend the day in front of the wood stove, all cozy-warm, as Jack says.

If we need to work out some energy, we’ll do laps inside with the rocket.

That was yesterday – I forgot about it by the time Jack fell asleep (not until NINE). Today is much more reasonable.

Heh. I just refreshed the page to see how this post would look when it was published, and the header photo was this one. Sums it up nicely.

There’s always something

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It wasn’t that long ago that I was rhapsodizing about them, but lately, the LAST thing I want is a hot shower.  Our townhouse doesn’t have AC.  (Our new house doesn’t either, but it’s much better insulated and it’s pretty shady there.)  We have a portable unit we bought in Oregon that vents out the window, and the townhouse had one regular window unit when we moved in.  It wasn’t TOO big of a deal last fall because we moved in September and we only had a couple of really hot days before the cooler weather started.  Now, though, it’s HOT.  We’ve had several days in a row of 90+ degree weather, and the house is pretty much unbearable.

We’re keeping the window unit running in our bedroom 24/7 (can’t wait for that electric bill), and it’s the only room that feels nice to sit in (with, of course, no place to sit other than the bed).  We moved the kitchen table and the portable unit into my office, so John and I are working together in the only other air-conditioned room in the house.  Fortunately, it’s been a quiet week for meetings so we’re not getting on each other’s nerves.  Unfortunately, the portable unit can’t keep up, so we’re still dying.

Today, even though it’s our first sub-90 degree day in a week, it’s still too warm in the house, so we’re camped out at Starbucks.

That is not the point I was going to make when I started writing.  My original point was that COLD SHOWERS ARE THE BEST.  Truly, that is not something I ever thought I would say.   It has become a necessity to take an actual cold shower before bedtime, both to clean off the sweat that’s accumulated all day long and to cool down before sleeping in the only cool room in the house.  AND IT FEELS SO GOOD.  It’s so hot in the rest of the house, bathroom included, that I find myself lingering under cold freakin’ water.  Maybe this is related to the pregnancy thing, too, but except for one incident, John has been as hot and uncomfortable as I’ve been.  We were watching TV, relatively cool, and all of a sudden I was like, “John, I need you to point the fan directly at me, I am so hot I can’t stand it please hurry up”.

Not to worry – I can find something to complain about in the only cool room in the house, too.  The window unit can only go in the window at the foot of the bed (lack of outlets and appropriate extension cords), and the air (which cannot be directed) blows directly on the pillows in the middle of the bed.  When I’m sleeping on my left side, like I am supposed to do, facing the middle of the bed, it blows directly on my face.  Consequence?  I wake up every morning congested with a drippy throat.

When will life be perfect, huh?

Tied up with a bow

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It rained all day today BUT:

  1. We went to a library book sale at lunch and I picked up three books.
  2. I saw a cherry tree in bloom!  Spring!  It’s coming!

Okay, I already knew spring was coming (or maybe is here) because my allergies reminded me.  They’re not bad yet (and hopefully will remain not bad), but last night I drove John out of bed with my snoring.  Whoops.  And I woke up congested.  BUT:

  1. An hour upright cleared most of that up for me.
  2. It rained all day today, so the pollen should be washed out of the air (for a short while).

Full circle!

Side effects with drifts

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A side effect of working from home is that I don’t pay that much attention to the weather.  It’s cold out?  Okay.  It’s raining?  Whatever.  I can stay in the comfy coziness of my own home, no worries about commutes or clearing snow off the car or whether the office will be open.  The downside is that whatever the weather, as long as I have power, I’m working.  No snow days.

Speaking of snow days, imagine my surprise when I discovered this morning that, in addition to the RIDICULOUSLY COLD TEMPERATURES we’ve had lately, that John and the locals assure me are most definitely out of the ordinary, no sirree, it never gets this cold here in the Ocean State, nuh uh – where was I? Oh – in addition to the cold, we’re in the path of a blizzard.  A winter hurricane.  A bomb cyclone.  (I can’t make this stuff up.)  What’ll it bring us?  High winds and 8 to 12 inches of snow.  What’ll come after?  MORE COLD WEATHER.

Before you tell me I got what I asked for by moving to New England, hear this: I wouldn’t trade it.  Shocked?  Me, too, a little.  But I woke up this morning to clear blue skies.  The sun has been shining for days on end.  Sure, it’s cold, and sure, we’ll get a day of snow and no sunshine, but the sun will come back.  I just checked the weather in Eugene – nearly 50 degrees for the high for the next week, but you know what else?  Rain.  Every day for a week.  Where’s the sun?  I’ll tell you.  It’s here.

As for the cold, I’ll just stay inside.  Our heat works.  I have books.  I have internet.  I actually went grocery shopping on New Year’s Eve, so we’re all stocked up (although I’m a little amused that food was that far down my list of hibernation priorities).  And I’ll buy real winter boots with fuzzy warm linings and gloves and mittens that keep my hands warm.  I’ll be the coziest.

I wanna rock and roll all night and part of every day

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This is not how weather is supposed to work, Providence.

Weekends are for sunny days so we can enjoy them!  Get it together, RI!

In other news, the concert last night was a LOT of fun.  Against Me! was fantastic, and I would see them again any day.  They need to choose better opening acts, but oh well.  It was a small club, and it wasn’t packed, but most of the audience were serious fans who pushed in close and sang every word.  (I only knew a couple of songs that well, but give me time.)  I like being packed in with a ton of people all focused on the stage, all singing together, but we ditched the crowded floor after a few too many close encounters with moshing idiots.  Who knew punk fans would ignore the big NO MOSHING signs?  Silly me for assuming they’d be rule followers.  The balcony was much safer but it had zero energy.  I brought my own, of course, and they played my favorite song, and hey – it took us less than an hour to get home in the middle of the night.  We were totally exhausted this morning, naturally.  I was actually dizzy for a few seconds when I got up, but an early bedtime tonight ought to fix that.  We are party animals, yes we are.

Focus Shmocus

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Neither of us felt great this weekend, but we picked a good weekend for it since it was mostly overcast and rainy.  We’re better today, kind of.  It probably didn’t help that we got caught out in it yesterday.  We walked to the nearest grocery store to pick up a few essentials (and breakfast), thinking we’d detour a little to Starbucks on the way home.  The rain wasn’t supposed to start until closer to noon, so naturally, since we were walking, it started early.  It was just sprinkling when we left the grocery store, but it was raining outright two blocks later.  It wasn’t all that unpleasant.  It was a nice change to be out in warm rain.  In Oregon, it only rains when it’s cold out.  And luckily for us, the downpour didn’t start until we got home (barely).  We had to dry all the groceries as we put them away, which was weird, but then we decided we weren’t going to do anything else.  We watched all six episodes of the second season of Happy Valley (NOT a happy show), and I finished my book, and that was it.  Weekend over.  I sat in one chair for about eight hours.

I no longer get Columbus Day off, so today is a workday. Kind of a weird one, since plenty of people took the day off anyway.  Hard to focus.

Watch me be all zen and stuff

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The sky has been dropping quiet sheets of rain on us for the last hour or so.  It’s very soothing.  And yes, I know I just came from the Pacific Northwest, and I know I should be tired of rain, but it rains differently there.  And I know this rain isn’t the beginning of 7 months of nothing but rain.  And I have trees right outside my windows and they’re turning yellow and there’s a slate blue house across the street with a red-leafed tree in front and it has a stone chimney and behind that there’s a really tall oak tree whose leaves are still green so even though the sky is grey, everything I can see is full of peaceful colors.

It is what it is

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I sat in the backyard for a little bit this afternoon wearing long pants and a hoodie and shivering a little even though the sun was shining and it’s AUGUST because Oregon doesn’t understand how summer works.

Of course, we spent a few days last week in Rhode Island in sweaters and sweatshirts, so I guess summer is broken everywhere this year.  Or maybe it’s just broken wherever we are, since summer seemed to be handing out 100+ degree days everywhere we were NOT, and maybe I should just wear a hoodie and be grateful.

I’d rather melt than freeze, just not while I’m sleeping

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Hi.  It’s hot.  Okay, it’s not THAT hot (the high today was 87), but it’s the hottest it’s been so far this year.  It felt great during the day.  This afternoon I sat in the backyard reading in the sun…and then I could feel the beginnings of a sunburn so I moved to the shade and it felt like HEAVEN.  It was great.  I’m complaining NOW because it’s 8 o’clock at night, and it’s 80 degrees downstairs and 83 degrees upstairs.  This house does not have air conditioning.  (Because, you know, like, Oregon?  Doesn’t get hot in the summer?  Like, except for that one time last year.  And, like, that one time the year before, and like, that month it was over 90 every day for 30 days, but like, naw, man.  It doesn’t get hot here.)  John carried the portable A/C we bought last May, and we just set it up in our bedroom.  Hopefully it’ll be cool enough in there by the time we go to bed.

It’s still hot downstairs, and I am downstairs.

Also, I’m full.  You know how you want to be good so you order a salad but it’s one of those big entree salads and it’s really good so you eat the whole thing and then you feel terrible because it wasn’t the healthy thing to do?

Also, I’m staring out the window instead of reading my book.

Also, it’s Monday.

Spring in Oregon, a vignette

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There’s a small chance of rain (duh).  I wanted to run, but didn’t want to get soaked, so I decided to stay closed, run around the block, and remind my legs what it feels like to run hills.  Got all dressed, got my shoes on, opened the door – rain.  Closed the door, contemplated the gym.  Got my keys and ID, opened the door – the rain had stopped.  The sun was back.

Time to take my chances.   Three laps into the ten laps I wasn’t sure I was going to complete (hills are HARD), and guess what happened?

My name is Zannah, and I live in Oregon.

Soggy

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I suspect I failed my Real Oregonian test today.  It started out well.  I decided to go for a run instead of to the gym because it was only raining a little and it seemed likely to stop.  And it was 60 degrees out, so running in a little rain would be practically pleasant.  I could pretend I was a serious runner – a little rain won’t hold me back.  Less than a mile in, it started to come down a little steadier.  I ducked under a kiosk for a few minutes, but it didn’t get better.  Runners and walkers and other hardy folk went by me, and I decided to suck it up and keep going.  Then, of course, it turned into real rain.  Still not a driving rain (that’s pretty unusual), but steady and soaking.  I ducked under a bridge to wait it out – surely that wouldn’t last.  Packs of runners went by with disdainful looks at the tourist (that I may have been imagining).  Dog walkers gave me a wide berth – my prissiness might be contagious.

The message was clear: Real Oregonians don’t hide from the rain under bridges.

I was watching the rain hit the canal, and after a few minutes where it actually really did come down hard, I couldn’t see drops in the water anymore, so I hit the path.  Yeah, I was wrong.  It was still raining, but now it was a heavy mist.  Too light to see it hit the ground, but plenty wet enough to soak through my clothes and get in my eyes and make it hard to see.  Sneaky rain.

By the time I got home, dripping water, it was time to turn around and go to yoga, where the studio was so warm ACTUAL STEAM was rising from my damp clothes.

The hot shower I took tonight seemed almost unnecessary.  No.  It was necessary.

Winter is SO long (whine whine whine)

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I’ve forgotten what jacket weather feels like.  Yeah, yeah, I know that sounds like a melodramatic plea from midwinter, especially since it hasn’t been that cold out here.  But I was walking home from yoga tonight wearing my winter coat, and I realized I couldn’t actually remember that in-between weather feeling.  I can imagine feeling cold (I don’t have to imagine it, but I can), and I can remember feeling hot, but that temperature where adding a jacket is enough to feel comfortable?  No, I can’t remember it and I can’t even really imagine it.  Failure on my part, I’m sure.

Where is spring?  When will it get here?  And stay?  When will I want to wear a jacket instead of a coat?  That’s all I really want.

Still strange

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It occurred to me today that I haven’t posted a “something weird happened in Eugene” post lately, and that occurred to me today because I saw something weird in Eugene.  Funny how that works.

We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday, it tried to melt for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, clearing the streets and sidewalks part of the way and turning the slow into slush, but then the temperature dropped below freezing overnight and stayed below freezing all day today, so the snow and slush turned into ice and is still around.  I was driving along 5th Ave this afternoon, slowly, carefully, with the 4-wheel drive on, when I saw a guy with ski poles making his way to the corner.  Turned to John: “Is that guy skiing?”

Yes, he was.

Should I stay or should I go

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We had an ice storm today.  Well, we didn’t, but there was an ice storm in parts of Oregon today.  And we had enough sleet that we’ve got little icicles hanging from the gutters and the trees are covered in ice and the poor rosebushes are weighed down by the ice.

It’s icy is what I’m saying.  Also cold.

We’re slow-cooking for dinner (good day for it), and The Bloggess made me laugh.

We are considering sticking around Eugene for a little bit longer than originally planned.  Partly, it’s because John is excited about his new band (which still needs a name) and wants to give it a real shot, but mostly it’s because we’re not ready.  We haven’t made much of an effort to figure out where we’d go next or how we’d make it happen, and if we go right when our lease is up (which is less than four months from now), we have to be moving at full speed on that right now.

I don’t want to do that, and neither does John.  We still like our plan (possibly with modifications), and we still don’t plan on staying in Eugene forever, but we feel like we just got here.  There are still things to do.  So maybe we’ll stay a little longer.

On the other hand, John is sick again (congested and miserable), for the third time in five months.  Maybe it’s the house and maybe we should move.

I want a gym that is nearly empty all the time but makes enough money to stay open

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8:30 on a Monday morning is not the greatest time to go to the gym.  It was packed.  There are 12 treadmills, and all but two of them were occupied by older ladies walking.  Nearly every weight machine and all of the ellipicals were in use.  I was able to nab one of the remaining treadmills, but I need to keep this in mind next time I try to work out on a rainy Monday morning.

AND it didn’t even rain.  The sky was half-threatening, half-sunny, and the threatening part appeared to be taking over and the forecast said the rain was supposed to start any minute, so I figured it would be smarter to run on a treadmill than get caught out in a downpour.  And then it didn’t rain.  Still threatening, and it probably will, but I could have run outside this morning.  Boo.

Running on a treadmill is BORING.

Oh, wait, it just started to rain.  Still, I would have made it back.

It begins

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Today is the end of the second day of rain.  The forecast calls for at least one more day, probably two, before we see the sun.  I took these pictures just the other day in preparation for this.

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This is my sun lamp.

(They were taken in Alton Baker Park, also where I saw the bird from Friday’s post.)